Chapter 3 #2
“Sure,” Darren said, and Chet went inside and returned with another wine for him and a glass of grape juice for himself. He also brought out more cheese and crackers, and they munched, drank, and talked away the afternoon.
Darren was a little toasted by the time they got back in the car for the return ride to town. He lay back, top down, loving the sun on his skin. “What’s it like in New York?”
“Noisy, fast, rough,” Chet said. “That’s the city itself.
My family lives high above it, so it’s quieter, and there are doormen, exclusive elevators, and even security cameras between us and the general population.
The apartment is huge and filled with pieces of art and antiques that any museum would kill to have, collected over time and passed from generation to generation.
My grandfather bought the place, and it will eventually pass to me.
I’m expected to step into my dad’s shoes and run the company when he retires.
It was all planned out before I was born. ”
“You mean you don’t really have a choice in what you’ll do?” That was something that blew his mind.
“In any practical way, no. I could not take the job and then find someone to run the company for me, but then who knows what would happen. I could sell the whole business, but then every ancestor who worked their heart out to make the business a success would jump out of their graves and haunt me.” He smiled and then shrugged.
“So you’ll take over for your father?”
“I will because I have to. But it’s not what I really want to do.
I would love to work with kids and help them get a start in life.
The family has an arts foundation. They sponsor performances of the Met and other theater groups.
It’s all very self-serving. They get their name in every program and on every poster and bit of promotion.
Then their colleagues and friends seek them out for business and private deals.
Yes, the family makes cookies, but my father has made even more money in real estate.
We now own two buildings in New York worth many millions, and they are full of tenants who pay millions a month in rent.
It’s all about money, money, and more money.
I really want to help people. Show them that they can make a good life for themselves.
Give them the skills to be successful. That’s what I’d really like to do. ”
To Darren, it seemed pretty simple. “Then why don’t you do it? I mean, you have a choice in how you spend your time. You can still do what your father wants but do what you want too. Make a deal with him, I guess. You’ll do a deal for him, but then you get some time to do what you want.”
Chet nodded slowly. “There’s only one problem.
My family would try to use my work for PR.
They are always about the optics. So, I’d be out there helping people, and they would be touting my work to everyone to make themselves look good.
But you’re right. If I want to make a difference, then I should do that and not let my father have a say or even know about it.
There are ways to do a lot of good without having your name attached.
” He continued driving out of the valley and into the redwoods.
The temperature dropped a little with each passing mile, and by the time they reached the coast once more, it was in the fifties and the coastal fog had rolled in, obscuring the sun.
To Darren, it felt like his day of fun was coming to an end and even the clouds and sea knew it.
“Should I drop you off at work?”
“No. I need to go to the house and change my clothes,” Darren said as they entered Mendocino.
Chet pulled up in front of the house, and Darren turned toward him.
“Thank you for one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.
” He was about to leave the car when he pivoted and leaned over the console, giving Chet a gentle kiss that sent a jolt of electricity down his spine.
They straightened up in the seat, and Darren opened the car door to get out of the car.
“Can I see you again?” Chet asked, almost like they were courting or something.
It seemed so old-fashioned, yet refreshing.
The last time he had been in a similar situation, the guy had asked if he wanted to come up for a fuck.
He had turned him down, and Darren was tempted to do the same thing here.
He had had a great day, but there was no need to repeat it.
He had to be to work in an hour, and he had tomorrow morning to get a weeks’ worth of chores done.
From there, his week was filled with his full-time job at the butcher shop and shifts at the restaurants.
Darren really didn’t have the time to see anyone, and the thought sent an overwhelming sense of sadness running through him.
His grandmother would hate that he was living like this.
She had always said that work was fine, but a person also needed a chance to have some fun,
“I’ll try,” he said. “I don’t know when I’ll have some free time, but I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?
” Part of him just wanted to go inside, store away these good memories for later, and let it all go.
Realistically, he knew it was the most he could hope for.
Chet was here in town to have a good time and make the most of being away from his family and their pressures.
In a week, he was going to return to New York, and that would be it.
He turned away and was about to go inside but stopped.
“I can probably trade a shift at The Pub with one of the other servers. Viv’s got a teenage daughter, and her birthday is coming up, so she wanted an extra shift. So maybe Wednesday?”
It was the best he could do. But Chet’s smile told him it had been the right answer.
“Excellent. Let me know for sure, and I’ll bring things and make dinner.
Then maybe we can drive along the coast, if the weather is good.
” He flashed another winning grin, and Darren nodded, waiting for Chet to drive away and taillights of the convertible to disappear before going inside.
He needed to change for work and walk the quick distance to The Pub in the next hour, which was totally doable as long as he could keep his head out of the clouds.
But that was proving more and more difficult with Chet and that damned smile of his, which seemed to have taken root in his brain.